Saturday, June 7, 2014

The ACC/SEC both decided to say that BYU didn't count as a P5 game on their schedules... so what. Technically BYU is not a P5 school. A P5 school, by definition, is in one of those 5 conferences. Is BYU on caliber with those schools? Yes. Would they be a challenging opponent for nearly anyone? Yes. Do you think the ACC/SEC don't realize that? Of course they do.

But consider the circumstances and purpose of the P5 requirement. Who are those conferences competing with for playoff spots? Likely schools from P12, B12, B1G. How do they show that they are more worthy of a spot? Beat teams from those conferences. This is the clear reason why they are even requiring their schools to play P5. Head to head ammunition. If it were purely strength of schedule, Boise, BYU, and a few others would in most years be much better for the SOS, and they would have required teams to schedule a top 50 team, etc. Does playing Wake Forest or Colorado or Kansas really help your SOS? Absolutely not. Does playing BYU (or Boise) help you prove you are more deserving that the P12, B12, B1G head to head? Not necessarily. Schools looking for a good SOS could (and will) still schedule BYU. They didn't say they couldn't play BYU. They basically just said the obvious--that BYU is not in one of those P5 conferences, and therefore, doesn't help if your goal is to actually beat teams from those conferences that they believe will be competing for playoff spots.

Would it have been better if they has said BYU would count? Of course. But does it mean that they don't see BYU as quality opponent or unworthy of their company? No. Is it disappointing? Sure. However, I believe that the national media, and BYU fans especially, have been making a much bigger deal out of this than they should. And, when seen through the eyes of the SEC/ACC and their purpose for the requirement in the first place, it isn't that surprising, and not much has really changed.